Chapter 2

2 Ten minutes before the roof top drama, Ethan found me in the farmer's market. I was elbows-deep in fish guts, trying to scrape together money for school.

After Britney swiped my Vanderbilt ticket, I ended up with the Millers, a family who ran a barely-there dairy farm. Except, they didn't adopt me to be a daughter. They adopted me to be a wife for their "special" son, Billy.

Even though I aced my exams, the Millers made me drop out. They needed me to help around the farm, to be Billy's nanny. To be frank, they wanted me as Billy's punching bag, until he was old enough to use me for other things.

Every time I came home with a good grade, Mrs. Miller would roll her eyes. "What's that gonna do for us? Chad over there got expelled, but he got rich. You should learn something from him!"

Mr. Miller was even worse, ranting about my education and all the money it cost him. "You're going to the factory after the exams. Send your paycheck straight to us, and when you turn eighteen, marry Billy!"

I had to promise to pay my way through high school, and hand over most of my salary just to continue going to class.

Every waking moment, I was working. Up at dawn to deliver milk, scaling fish during the day, washing dishes in the evening. If it made money, I did it. I ate scraps, I wore hand-me-downs, all to get through school.

I knew that education was my only chance to escape the life I was living.

SPLASH. Fish blood sprayed all over my face, and my nose was assaulted with the smell of rotting fish.

Ethan, standing in front of me, winced. He stepped back, a look of discomfort on his face.

I wiped my face with my apron, embarrassed. "Sorry, didn't mean to scare you. You wanna buy some fish?"

"Ashley?" He seemed to realize he was being rude, and offered me his hand. "I'm Ethan Vanderbilt, Britney's brother. I hate to ask, but can you please talk to Britney?

And that's how I ended up on the roof of the high school.

Looking at Britney in her designer clothes, I felt a pang of shame. I glanced at my stained apron, my patched-up clothes. Britney and I were worlds apart.

She had money, a family that loved her, and a life I could only dream of. And she was willing to throw it all away for Chad.

I walked toward Britney, showing her my calloused hands. "Britney, do you even know how good you have it? Do you know what it's like to pull fish out of freezing water at five in the morning? A single fancy dinner costs more than I make in two months."

Britney scoffed, looking down at my hands. "I don't care about any of that! I'm happy with Chad! You're all so obsessed with money! It's all you care about! Chad's homemade stew is better than any fancy restaurant."

She was getting more and more agitated, taking steps closer to the edge. She pointed at the Vanderbilts, her voice dripping with venom. "If I could do it over again, I'd never let you adopt me! You're always trying to control me! You're using me to show how good you are. I hate you!"

She took a step back, slipping on a loose stone. She fell over, and went straight over the edge.

I reached out to grab her, but she pulled me over with her.